Digital Pick: All That Jazz

What are the one hundred quintessential jazz songs? Listeners of NPR Music and Jazz24, a radio station with offices in Seattle and Tacoma, have voted for their all-time favorites, and the results—which lead with songs by Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, and John Coltrane—are now available for live streaming on NPR.org. “With a few exceptions, it appeared that when listeners looked to jazz vocalists, they preferred female artists that tugged at the heartstrings, while in most cases those who preferred instrumentalists enjoyed swinging, memorable mid- to up-tempo hits,” NPR’s Kevin Kniestedt wrote when revealing the list. Enthusiasts can hash out the choices on Jazz24’s discussion board; those who want a list with a slightly larger scope should turn to David Remnick’s list of a hundred essential jazz albums, compiled with Richard Brody in 2008.

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